Life Lately...

Life has been amazing lately. Rob's work hours here give us a lot of family time and we've certainly been making use of it! I only have 4 more weeks until I start my hospital stay and although I am dreading it, it also brings a certain amount of peace, hope, and satisfaction. If we can make it to 24 weeks our odds increase immensely and even though I will be sitting around seemingly doing nothing, I know that it is the best thing I can do for these babies.

Gideon is doing great. Here are some things about him:
-He has been crawling for quite a while now and he stands up on everything!
-The past couple of months his favorite thing is to get into "downward dog" and stare at his feet, it is so precious!
-He has two little teeth on the bottom and he is working on one on the top right now.
- His belly laughs are the best part of my day.
-For the past 4 months whenever music turns on or anyone is singing he uses this really high pitched voice and tries to mimic the music and sing along. This is especially funny at church or in public because once he starts singing he doesn't want to stop--even if the music does!
-His babbling is incessant and he often uses his hands to illustrate his point. I really wish I could understand the stories he tells me
-He loves strings and cords of any kind.
-He is enamored with his Aunt Liz and his Grandma. Every time they walk into a room he brightens up and claps his hands.
-He refuses to get kisses on demand, but he will grab our faces/hair at random and pull us in for the biggest kisses you've ever seen.
-He does this crinkly nose look that is priceless, but we haven't managed to get in on camera
-He loves to have whisper conversations and if you whisper at him he will do it back until he gets bored
-He has successfully learned to navigate the single step leading from our hallway to the family room. I'm just hoping that he will wait another four weeks to try and tackle the big steps so that I don't have to deal with it!

And here are some pics--

This is Gideon's first time in an "outdoor pool" 

We went to the pet shop and Gideon asked these puppies for kisses (note the open mouth)

They were more than happy to oblige

Gideon played in the sand at the beach and tried to eat all of it

REPRESENT!

Some backyard fun with Meisje

"I do not like this box!"

"Oh, but you have a camera...in that case..."

Gideon got this balloon from the Pet Fair we went to this weekend

and it became is best friend. There will be a video about this in the future...

Gideon just chilled on the floor while Daddy installed some cabinets for Grandpa and Grandma

This pic is to give you an idea of what Rob gets to eat for his "diet"...

he is doing strictly Paleo, which means he can only eat natural foods

like meats, eggs, veggies, and fruit. What it really translates to 

is him having delicious homecooked meals for EVERY meal 

for the first time in our marriage.